Callous-Unemotional Traits and Disorganized Attachment: Links with Disruptive Behaviors in Toddlers

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Jane Kohlhoff1,2, Dina Mahmood3, Eva Kimonis4

  • 1School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Jane.Kohlhoff@unsw.edu.au.

Child Psychiatry and Human Development
|January 3, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Callous-unemotional (CU) traits and disorganized attachment are linked in toddlers with behavioral issues. CU traits, more than attachment, predict the severity of conduct problems in early childhood.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Psychiatry

Background:

  • Callous-unemotional (CU) traits and disorganized attachment are risk factors for poor psychological outcomes in children.
  • The overlap and unique contributions of these constructs to early conduct problems are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the associations between CU traits, disorganized attachment, and conduct problem (CP) severity in clinic-referred toddlers.
  • To determine the unique contributions of CU traits and disorganized attachment to CP severity.

Main Methods:

  • Study included 56 mother-child dyads of clinic-referred toddlers (mean age 19.50 months) with behavioral problems.
  • Data collected via parent-report questionnaires, a dyadic play session, and the Strange Situation Procedure for attachment assessment.

Main Results:

  • Significant positive associations were found between CU traits and disorganized attachment, independent of CP severity.
  • CU traits, but not disorganized attachment, significantly predicted CP severity in this sample.

Conclusions:

  • Clear links exist between CU traits and attachment disorganization in toddlers with disruptive behavior problems.
  • CU traits are more salient than disorganized attachment in predicting conduct problem severity in this early childhood population.

Keywords:
Callous–unemotionalConduct problemsDisorganized attachmentParent–child relationship

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